RETREAT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does retreat mean? 

• RETREAT (noun)
  The noun RETREAT has 7 senses:

1. (military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat

2. a place of privacy; a place affording peace and quiet

3. (military) a signal to begin a withdrawal from a dangerous position

4. (military) a bugle call signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset

5. an area where you can be alone

6. withdrawal for prayer and study and meditation

7. the act of withdrawing or going backward (especially to escape something hazardous or unpleasant)

  Familiarity information: RETREAT used as a noun is common.

• RETREAT (verb)
  The verb RETREAT has 4 senses:

1. pull back or move away or backward

2. move away, as for privacy

3. move back

4. make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity

  Familiarity information: RETREAT used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RETREAT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(military) withdrawal of troops to a more favorable position to escape the enemy's superior forces or after a defeat

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

the disorderly retreat of French troops

Hypernyms ("retreat" is a kind of...):

withdrawal (the act of withdrawing)

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "retreat"):

disengagement; fallback; pullout (to break off a military action with an enemy)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A place of privacy; a place affording peace and quiet

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("retreat" is a kind of...):

area; country (a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "retreat"):

ashram ((India) a place of religious retreat for Hindus)

ashram (a place of religious retreat modeled after the Indian ashram)

nook (a sheltered and secluded place)

nest (a cosy or secluded retreat)

pleasance (a pleasant and secluded part of a garden; usually attached to a mansion)

sanctum; sanctum sanctorum (a place of inviolable privacy)

Instance hyponyms:

Camp David (a retreat to the northwest of Washington that is used by the president of the United States)

Derivation:

retreat (move away, as for privacy)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(military) a signal to begin a withdrawal from a dangerous position

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("retreat" is a kind of...):

sign; signal; signaling (any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message)

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(military) a bugle call signaling the lowering of the flag at sunset

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("retreat" is a kind of...):

bugle call (a signal broadcast by the sound of a bugle)

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

Sense 5

Meaning:

An area where you can be alone

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

hideaway; retreat

Hypernyms ("retreat" is a kind of...):

area (a part of a structure having some specific characteristic or function)

Derivation:

retreat (move away, as for privacy)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Withdrawal for prayer and study and meditation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

retirement; retreat

Context example:

the religious retreat is a form of vacation activity

Hypernyms ("retreat" is a kind of...):

withdrawal (the act of withdrawing)

Sense 7

Meaning:

The act of withdrawing or going backward (especially to escape something hazardous or unpleasant)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("retreat" is a kind of...):

withdrawal (the act of withdrawing)

Antonym:

advance (the act of moving forward (as toward a goal))

• RETREAT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they retreat    ... he / she / it retreats   
Past simple: retreated   
Past participle: retreated   
-ing form: retreating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Pull back or move away or backward

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

draw back; move back; pull away; pull back; recede; retire; retreat; withdraw

Context example:

The limo pulled away from the curb

Hypernyms (to "retreat" is one way to...):

go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)

Verb group:

back away; back out; crawfish; crawfish out; pull back; pull in one's horns; retreat; withdraw (make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "retreat"):

fall back (move back and away from)

retreat; retrograde (move back)

back down; back off; back up (move backwards from a certain position)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Move away, as for privacy

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

The Pope retreats to Castelgondolfo every summer

Hypernyms (to "retreat" is one way to...):

go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "retreat"):

cocoon (retreat as if into a cocoon, as from an unfriendly environment)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

retreat (an area where you can be alone)

retreat (a place of privacy; a place affording peace and quiet)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Move back

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

retreat; retrograde

Context example:

The glacier retrogrades

Hypernyms (to "retreat" is one way to...):

draw back; move back; pull away; pull back; recede; retire; retreat; withdraw (pull back or move away or backward)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 4

Meaning:

Make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

back away; back out; crawfish; crawfish out; pull back; pull in one's horns; retreat; withdraw

Context example:

The aggressive investment company pulled in its horns

Verb group:

draw back; move back; pull away; pull back; recede; retire; retreat; withdraw (pull back or move away or backward)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

 Context examples 

Then he could not have retreated down the road, and you say that there are no side roads?

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You may feel you’ve been out so much this month that you need to retreat inside. That would be a good idea.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Smith's fast retreat and thinning are likely related to the shape of its underlying bedrock.

(Studies Offer New Glimpse of Melting Under Antarctic Glaciers, NASA)

Located in the Brabazon Range of southeastern Alaska, Yakutat Glacier is one of the fastest retreating glaciers in the world.

(Retreat of Yakutat Glacier, NASA)

“They have but one retreat,” whispered Holmes.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

When he started up the companion-way, I retreated, silently rolling over on top of the cabin.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

White Fang, on the verge of retreat, would have retreated, leaving the meat to him.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Buck retreated two or three steps.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

The Sabrina Coast and nearby Aurora Basin are particularly important because regional glaciers are now thinning and retreating as nearby ocean waters warm.

(Massive East Antarctic Ice Sheet has history of instability, National Science Foundatio)

Until now, scientists did not know when the retreat of Pine Island Glacier started, or its underlying cause.

(West Antarctica's largest glacier may have started retreating as early as the 1940s, NSF)